


Mannster Hunter, OR Phantom Thief Of Carves

by Alexilulu



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: F/F, Post-college timeline, girlfriends being gay together is good, or late college for Ann
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-24
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-12-19 06:41:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11892183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alexilulu/pseuds/Alexilulu
Summary: Makoto and Ann are enjoying domestic bliss, but Makoto's running out of leisure activities to do with her girlfriend, so Ann comes up with a quick solution: video games.





	Mannster Hunter, OR Phantom Thief Of Carves

**Author's Note:**

> Still working on forcing myself to meet word count targets, and in fact I came in way below estimate so good job, me! Ann status LBGs in the Bnahabra set because it's pretty and she's not really that worried about the damage gap for having low armor in HR since she's ~~~Super Pro~~~

Makoto noticed something about Ann once they moved in together. She expected their shared bedroom to look like a girl-bomb went off in it, bras and tank tops and camis galore, but the whole apartment becomes a wasteland as Ann moves through it; her favorite spot on the couch is surrounded by empty drinks, half-finished snack cups, and yet more bras and tank tops. Makoto takes this new side of Ann in stride; after all, there’s a long history of cleaning up after others from living with Sae behind her. Back then, the implicit assumption that she would handle the cleaning to give her older sister room to work gave her the determination to undertake the task without complaint. Now, it's mostly tired affection. All of this is not to say that Makoto hasn't been known to leave a mess in her wake when she’s focused on something, but she takes care of it quickly once it returns to her attention. That was how, one day, Makoto found a brightly colored gift bag buried under a pile of Ann’s clothes one Sunday while she waited for her girlfriend to get back from a photo shoot.

She picks up the bag gingerly after finding it, plucking the handles between her fingers and taking it into the kitchen and setting it on the table, sitting down next to it and trying to compose herself. It's not her birthday or their anniversary, and she can't think of any other significant events in the coming month, so she's at a loss for what this could be related to. Is she just…giving a gift just because? It's sweet, but something must have prompted it. She scours her memory for any significant happenings in the week, coming up blank. She did go with Ann to a shoot to give her a ride since she was late, but it wasn't anything special, she spent most of the time waiting for the director to finish a shoot that was running late and playing something on her 3DS while Makoto read a book on her phone.

The wrapping is almost tantalizing, somehow. She could easily slice through the gordian knot of this cut-rate mystery…but then Ann wouldn't get to see her real reaction. That's not fair, right? She got whatever is in the bag to surprise her with a token of her affection, and she wants to ruin it because she was curious? Terrible, Officer Niijima, just terrible. She stands, walking across the kitchen and grabbing a can of seltzer from the fridge, sitting back down across from the bag and taking a swig. She won't be swayed by the enticing wrap, or the colorful paper sticking out of the top of the bag, and definitely not by the handwritten smiley and heart next to her name in the card tied to the handle. She'll just get back up, go back to cleaning, and wait for Ann.

She doesn't move.

The bag rustles softly in the circulating air of the fan.  

She leaps to her feet and snatches up the bag and charging into the living room with it. She just has to bury it again and all of this will go away until Ann is ready! She can forget about it!

Ann turns around from locking the front door behind her as Makoto’s charge into the room comes to an abrupt halt, the bag clutched in her hands. “Babe? Oh nooooooo, don't tell me.” She sighs, slumping. “I thought I really hid it, too…”

“W-wait, I didn't look! Well, I thought about it, but I didn't, I swear!”

Ann crosses her arms across her chest. “You better not have…” She crosses the room, plucking it from Makoto grasp and giving her a peck on the cheek. “Well, I'm home, so let's just open it.”

“W-Welcome home.” She sits down on the couch and Ann follows, shedding her jacket onto the back of the couch behind her. She places the bag in Makoto’s lap, grinning eagerly at her girlfriend.

“I hope you like it, I thought long and hard about this, but I think you'll love it!” Makoto nods, swallowing a internal panic and trying to maintain her cool. It's just a gift. The last ‘gift’ was a large and eggplant-colored surprise, so how bad could this be? she pulls slowly at the tissue paper blocking her view of the contents of the bag, internally steeling herself for the worst. What comes after strap on, an electric stimulation machine? The tissue paper falls away, revealing a large, slim box facing up out of the bag.

It’s a…New Nintendo 3DS XL? With a monster face on the box? Doesn’t Ann have one of those already? She pulls it out and turns the box over in her hands. Ann is bursting with excitement while Makoto maintains a neutral expression. It’s apparently a limited edition, made just for the release of Monster Hunter Generations, with a red faceplate and a square design on the front. She turns to Ann.

“Is this that game you were playing the other day? At the photoshoot, the one I took you to?”

Ann’s face brightens when Makoto makes the connection. “Yes! You seemed really interested in it when I showed you, so I thought we could play it together now! Obviously, I’m way ahead of you in the game but I can get you up to speed really quickly. And you said you were running out of books that interested you when you were off duty, so I figured when we have time we can play. It even has internet access, so I could play with you when you’re like, at the station or something and I’m home alone.”

“Wow. You said you’d really thought about it, but you _really_ thought about it, huh?” She smiles. “It’s cute. I like it.” She leans over and wraps her arms around Ann, squeezing her tightly. “I can’t say I know much about video games, but I’ll do my best to keep up with you.”

* * *

 

After some setup and Ann helping her get far enough through tutorials, Ann takes her online to the Hunter’s Hub and starts taking her through the urgent quests.

Their first hunt together is a hilarious disaster. Makoto gets lost and spends most of the time in it wandering the map trying to find Ann, having not learned how to open the item box at the spawn point, while Ann masterfully uses her ridiculously frilly Status Bowgunning set to take down a Great Jaggi. After that, Ann helps her set up the lower screen and shows her where the box is, and they start to get into a rhythm. Makoto starts out with a Sword & Shield set, using the added defense to get used to the game while Ann helpfully paralyzes and poisons the monster and explains things to watch out for.

They play infrequently throughout the next few weeks, Makoto playing sporadically at work and giving tight smiles to coworkers at the station who ask her if she’s borrowing her little brother’s console. Every day she gets a little bit better, a little bit more confident. Mostly, she clears out the village requests one by one, saving Hub progression for when she plays with Ann. Somewhere in one of their play sessions, Ann recommends Makoto try out other weapons, since she’s barely using a lot of the SNS’ beneficial effects and mostly just going really hard with sword swings. She experiments with some of the heavier weapons, but finds them all to be too slow for her.

Then, she tries the Dual Blades. It’s love at first sight. Something about the pace of it’s movements reminds her of fighting as a Phantom Thief, the kinetic rush of hand-to-hand combat with Shadows armed with blades or far worse things, that edge of your seat thrill of nearly getting hit by a monstrous creature several times your size, and striking back at a critical moment. Before, she had mostly used the Guild Style, but ended up using Adept to better complement her parry and riposte dodging strategy. Between this and some research online to find better tactics, gear combos and backpack loadouts, she’s like a different hunter. Ann, the veteran player with HR 999 (she’s been playing these games since Middle School when Ryuji got her into the series, and always seems to find time to keep hunting during breaks and train rides), seems shocked by the change that comes over her when Makoto found her new niche and the intense focus it brings out of her.

It was kind of hot.

* * *

 

By now deep into the High Rank hunts, Makoto and Ann are both sprawled out across the couch, backs resting against pillows and legs entwined in a tangle in the center. They’re hunting a Zinogre together, trying to get a Jasper drop so Makoto can finish her Crit Chain set. The fight’s not really that high stakes, since it’s probably their tenth Zinogre in a row and at the very least, Ann’s heart isn’t in it. She keeps looking up at Makoto over her 3ds, watching her laser focus on the fight and biting her lip. They’ve been playing basically every chance they get together, and even to someone who’s invested as many hours in the series as she has, Ann’s getting bored. And bored Ann gets to fantasize, and fantasizing Ann gets lonely, and well…

Her leg slides up Makoto’s slowly, her foot caressing her girlfriend’s calf. “Hey.”

“Do you want me to Lifepowder?” She’s currently halfway through a demonization combo, but Ann knows that she keeps a full stock of party heal materials just in case.

“No.” Her foot slides back down her leg. “Just saying hey. You know, checking in.”

“Okay. I’m gonna try to mount it, try to lead them over towards the cliff.”

“Yeah…” Her leg creeps back up Makoto’s, and she feels Makoto shiver a little under her touch, which only emboldens her to move past the knee and leave the side of her foot resting on Makoto’s thigh.

“Cold…” Ann moves her foot in a small circle.

“It’ll warm up, just give it a second. Oh, you got him. I’ll trap, I guess.” She moves out of roar range and starts the trap animation.

“Roger. Almost…Got em.”

“I’ve got tranq loaded, so just hit him a little and come over.” Her foot creeps up Makoto’s thigh slowly, sliding across smooth skin until it reaches the top of her pajama shorts.

“Ann, stop.”

“Mm, you better get over here if you want to trap it.” Ann is dancing on top of the trap, while Makoto circles the wounded Zinogre like a shark, waiting for his attack animation so she can strike again.

“I get more chances for the Jasper if we kill it.”

“Then just hit it in the trap, dummy, I already put it down, don’t waste it…” Her foot stays firmly planted on Makoto’s thigh, and her other starts moving up Makoto’s other leg, wiggling her toes as she goes to annoy Makoto. Makoto rolls her eyes and heads over to the trap, running in small circles over it while Ann continues to dance. The Zinogre’s AI takes the bait, charging forward and plunging right into the pitfall just before the attack would connect with either of them. Ann runs backwards while Makoto dives in, the gunner setting up and taking aim to unload with some explosive fire, but the Zinogre succumbs to Makoto’s assault before she can get more than one or two shots in. As the ending horn sounds, Makoto leaps to her feet and pins Ann to the couch with an arm on her shoulder, giving her a long-awaited kiss, Ann sighing into her mouth as they finally connect the way she really wanted. When Makoto releases her, Ann smirks up at her.

“About time.”

“Oh, so that _was_ what you wanted?” Makoto doesn’t move from on top of Ann, returning the smirk with a predatory grin of her own. Ann’s own grin falters in the face of the hunger in her eyes, but the rest of her body reacts differently.

“And more. A lot more. You gotta get me into the wounded state if you want to capture me, you know.” Makoto huffs out a dark laugh, and Ann melts.

“God, you secretly were a dweeb all along, weren’t you?”

“Oh, shut up, I know you love this stuff.” Makoto answers with another kiss, leaning her knee between Ann’s thighs, eliciting a moan from her. The abandoned 3DSes chirp as the mission ends, the loot display appearing and then disappearing a few minutes later, their owners far too preoccupied with much more pressing matters.

 

**Author's Note:**

> UHH JUST IN CASE THIS IS A DISCLAIMER I DON'T OWN ANY TRADEMARKED MATERIAL IN THIS POST PLS DON'T RUIN MY LIFE CAPCOM AND/OR NINTENDO


End file.
